WEBVTT - Actually Buying a Home #067 0:00:00.080 --> 0:00:02.880 Welcome to How to Money. I'm Joel and I'm Matt, 0:00:02.960 --> 0:00:25.479 and today we're discussing actually buying a home. That's right, Joel. 0:00:25.560 --> 0:00:27.800 Last week we talked about everything you need to do 0:00:28.120 --> 0:00:31.160 before buying a house, and now this week we're talking 0:00:31.200 --> 0:00:35.440 about the actual house buying process, everything from submitting an 0:00:35.440 --> 0:00:38.040 offer all the way through to your closing date. Yeah, 0:00:38.080 --> 0:00:40.159 there's so many little things involved, Matt, and all of 0:00:40.200 --> 0:00:43.720 them are important in making sure that you buy a house. Well, 0:00:43.880 --> 0:00:46.200 so yeah, I'm looking forward to talking about that. Before 0:00:46.240 --> 0:00:47.360 we get to it, I wanted to let you know 0:00:47.479 --> 0:00:49.720 that one of our neighbors gave some hand me down 0:00:49.720 --> 0:00:52.400 bikes to my girls. His girl's had outgrown them. They 0:00:52.400 --> 0:00:54.480 got some new bikes, and so my girls have been 0:00:54.640 --> 0:00:56.800 super excited to ride bikes. And the weather has been 0:00:56.840 --> 0:00:59.400 a little bit warmer lately, so it's been really really 0:00:59.480 --> 0:01:01.760 fun getting out there and just kind of riding bikes 0:01:01.800 --> 0:01:03.880 with the girls because normally I put them on my 0:01:03.960 --> 0:01:05.760 bike and and that's a lot of fun, but it's 0:01:05.800 --> 0:01:08.000 so much fun just to watch them get into it 0:01:08.080 --> 0:01:10.200 on their own too. So yeah, we're really enjoying bike 0:01:10.280 --> 0:01:12.280 riding right now. It wasn't I on that text thread 0:01:12.280 --> 0:01:14.840 as well, where it was offered to you and me, Hey, 0:01:14.959 --> 0:01:18.040 you never and then and then he took both of 0:01:18.120 --> 0:01:21.440 them jerk, Hey, I offered after the fact, I did say, 0:01:21.480 --> 0:01:23.920 you're welcome to one. But you're pretty stocked on bikes 0:01:23.959 --> 0:01:26.160 over here. Yeah, actually, yeah, we've got some freebees as well. 0:01:26.480 --> 0:01:28.680 I keep kind of stashing them down to my basement 0:01:28.720 --> 0:01:30.560 down the cross space when the time comes and I'm 0:01:30.600 --> 0:01:32.720 gonna pull them out and hose them off. Get him 0:01:32.760 --> 0:01:34.680 nice and shining for the girls. Yeah, I think I 0:01:34.760 --> 0:01:36.560 saw you post a picture from from when you guys 0:01:36.560 --> 0:01:38.640 were riding. Was that during the week as well? We 0:01:38.640 --> 0:01:40.640 were kind of taken some time off from work. Yeah, 0:01:40.720 --> 0:01:43.160 I knocked off a little bit early. We we went 0:01:43.200 --> 0:01:45.520 to a biking path essentially, and and the girls had 0:01:45.520 --> 0:01:47.240 a blast. And there are a couple of playgrounds along 0:01:47.280 --> 0:01:49.840 the way that's the best. So yeah, we're like biking 0:01:49.840 --> 0:01:51.880 for a little while, stopping off at the playground, biking 0:01:51.920 --> 0:01:54.720 some more, stopping off. Yeah, the playground destination makes it 0:01:54.760 --> 0:01:57.200 worthwhile for the kiddos. I was asking though, because I 0:01:57.200 --> 0:01:59.520 think the same day I had family in town and 0:01:59.560 --> 0:02:00.920 I was a little bit nervous because I've got a 0:02:00.960 --> 0:02:03.960 lot of work on my plate these days, and to 0:02:04.080 --> 0:02:05.920 kind of be able to take that much time off 0:02:06.000 --> 0:02:08.280 during the day when I know that I'm typically working, 0:02:08.919 --> 0:02:11.120 and it was it was hard. I kind of had 0:02:11.160 --> 0:02:13.240 like a little panic attack when I realized that, oh, no, 0:02:13.320 --> 0:02:14.840 I'm not going to be able to get the things 0:02:14.960 --> 0:02:17.160 done that I need to get done today. But you 0:02:17.240 --> 0:02:19.679 know what I realized, I kind of reminded myself, back 0:02:19.720 --> 0:02:22.320 to the Mission Statement episode that we did with Scott, 0:02:22.720 --> 0:02:25.760 that having this kind of flexibility is important to me 0:02:25.840 --> 0:02:28.600 and to be able to pry myself away from my work, 0:02:28.639 --> 0:02:30.760 which is essentially what I have to do, uh is 0:02:30.800 --> 0:02:32.840 pride myself away, but to remind myself that, no, I 0:02:32.840 --> 0:02:34.079 need to spend time with my family. I need to 0:02:34.120 --> 0:02:36.320 spend time like you with your kids, just on a 0:02:36.400 --> 0:02:38.680 random day when when it's beautiful outside, and to give 0:02:38.680 --> 0:02:42.480 yourself that flexibility. And it's sort of like lifestyle shaping, 0:02:43.040 --> 0:02:45.160 like we know in our heads what we want our 0:02:45.200 --> 0:02:48.079 life to sort of look like. And it's weird to 0:02:48.120 --> 0:02:49.800 say this, but for me, man, it's it takes a 0:02:49.800 --> 0:02:52.440 lot of work to actually see it out and do 0:02:52.480 --> 0:02:54.560 the things that I know that I want to do 0:02:54.720 --> 0:02:56.760 on paper or in my head, but when it comes 0:02:56.840 --> 0:03:00.280 to my actual actions, it's really hard. So it's really 0:03:00.280 --> 0:03:02.440 difficult for me. And I don't know if that means 0:03:02.480 --> 0:03:05.440 I'm a workaholic or or what, but seeing you kind 0:03:05.440 --> 0:03:07.920 of do that was inspiring for for me, So so 0:03:07.960 --> 0:03:10.320 I appreciate that. Man. Yeah, no, I don't think you're 0:03:10.320 --> 0:03:12.040 alone in that at all. I think it's really hard 0:03:12.080 --> 0:03:14.480 for us to match up kind of our beliefs and 0:03:14.520 --> 0:03:17.560 what we hold dear to our actions. Sometimes that's a 0:03:17.639 --> 0:03:20.560 human tendency, right to to say that we value one thing, 0:03:21.000 --> 0:03:23.040 but in fact all these other things get in the 0:03:23.080 --> 0:03:25.680 way of us prioritizing the thing that we say we 0:03:25.720 --> 0:03:27.679 care about the most. And I think probably all of 0:03:27.720 --> 0:03:30.320 our listeners can resonate with that to a certain degree, 0:03:30.400 --> 0:03:33.200 that the things that we want to hold up as 0:03:33.200 --> 0:03:35.320 the most important things in our lives, we find ourselves 0:03:35.320 --> 0:03:37.760 answering emails when we should be spending time with our kids, 0:03:37.880 --> 0:03:40.640 or we find ourselves on our smartphones in bed when 0:03:40.680 --> 0:03:43.440 we should be having a nice moment with our spouse, right, 0:03:43.800 --> 0:03:45.800 or even just hopping back on the computer. Like for me, 0:03:45.840 --> 0:03:47.560 it's just after I take a shower at night, because 0:03:47.560 --> 0:03:49.640 that's how I roll take that night shower helps me 0:03:49.680 --> 0:03:51.680 feel all warm and cozy and clean, and then I 0:03:51.760 --> 0:03:53.320 then I go to bed. I gotta imagine you're in 0:03:53.320 --> 0:03:55.840 a low percentage of people that take showers at night. No, man, 0:03:56.120 --> 0:03:57.640 there's gotta be someone else out there. Just like the 0:03:57.640 --> 0:03:59.240 hot water thing. I think there's folks out there who 0:03:59.280 --> 0:04:01.760 also shower and it, but sometimes they're probably the same 0:04:01.840 --> 0:04:04.560 four people. But I know that if I get back 0:04:04.560 --> 0:04:06.280 on the computer for a little bit more and hammer 0:04:06.280 --> 0:04:08.120 out a few more emails or do some outlines or 0:04:08.120 --> 0:04:09.720 just some other work that I know it needs to happen. 0:04:09.720 --> 0:04:11.520 It's not just for ten minutes. It ends up being 0:04:11.520 --> 0:04:13.400 for thirty minutes or an hour, and then I stay 0:04:13.440 --> 0:04:15.560 up late, and it's it's not a priority of mine. 0:04:15.560 --> 0:04:17.480 I know, I want to try to go to bed sooner. Yeah, 0:04:17.520 --> 0:04:20.560 And I think that's why the mission statement is helpful, 0:04:20.640 --> 0:04:23.839 because it's that kind of kicking the pants, the reinforcement 0:04:24.000 --> 0:04:26.800 when you are doing something that essentially violates your mission statement. 0:04:27.000 --> 0:04:30.000 It's a reminder, right that general push to to actually 0:04:30.000 --> 0:04:32.280 live life according to the terms that you want, and 0:04:32.320 --> 0:04:34.920 not to just be pushed into a way of living 0:04:35.240 --> 0:04:37.040 by force. So I think it's good to be at 0:04:37.080 --> 0:04:39.240 least aware of it. You know, anytime there's a nice 0:04:39.320 --> 0:04:41.200 day like that, I think to myself, Man, this is 0:04:41.200 --> 0:04:43.120 a time where I could have the flexibility if I 0:04:43.160 --> 0:04:46.680 was more maybe diligent about getting my work done more 0:04:46.680 --> 0:04:49.880 efficiently and to take advantage of the flexibility I have. 0:04:50.160 --> 0:04:52.240 It's it's tricky, It's tough, all Joel. You want to 0:04:52.240 --> 0:04:55.680 introduce the beer for this episode, Yeah, Matt. Today on 0:04:55.680 --> 0:04:59.039 the show, we're drinking Boulevard Space Camper Cosmic I p A. 0:04:59.560 --> 0:05:02.880 So this is a brand new release from Boulevard Brewing Company, 0:05:02.920 --> 0:05:04.760 and our friend Hillary over there send us some of 0:05:04.760 --> 0:05:05.920 the spears, so we're excited to have it on the 0:05:05.920 --> 0:05:08.799 show today. Hillary, she's a listener and friend of the show. 0:05:09.279 --> 0:05:10.480 So we'll let you know what we think about the 0:05:10.480 --> 0:05:12.560 spear towards the end. And I'm excited to share this 0:05:12.600 --> 0:05:14.799 one with you today. Man, while we talk about buying 0:05:14.839 --> 0:05:16.919 a house, all right, Matt, The reason we need to 0:05:16.960 --> 0:05:19.920 talk about actually buying a home is because the difference 0:05:19.960 --> 0:05:21.839 between getting a house that you want and not getting 0:05:21.839 --> 0:05:24.520 it can be incredibly small. There are a lot of 0:05:24.600 --> 0:05:26.960 little things that can help your offers stand out and 0:05:27.000 --> 0:05:29.920 they can make the buying process go more smoothly. And 0:05:30.000 --> 0:05:32.000 most of us only buy a house once or twice 0:05:32.000 --> 0:05:35.279 in our lifetime, a few times maybe, and so we 0:05:35.320 --> 0:05:37.040 don't really know what to do. And even if we 0:05:37.120 --> 0:05:40.280 bought a house five years ago, we've completely forgotten. Things 0:05:40.279 --> 0:05:42.320 have changed and we need a helping hand. We need 0:05:42.360 --> 0:05:44.840 to kind of know what the process is like so 0:05:44.880 --> 0:05:46.840 that we can stand out when we're making an offer, 0:05:46.920 --> 0:05:48.719 and so we can actually close on the house that 0:05:48.760 --> 0:05:51.680 we want while getting the best rate in the best terms. Yeah, 0:05:51.839 --> 0:05:54.080 on our last episode, one of the things we discussed 0:05:54.160 --> 0:05:57.760 was getting a great realtor. However, different realtors have strengths 0:05:57.800 --> 0:06:00.200 and yours. You know, they may be a great alter 0:06:00.320 --> 0:06:02.640 but they may not be good at teaching you through 0:06:02.680 --> 0:06:05.320 the process of the actual purchasing process. You know, they 0:06:05.360 --> 0:06:07.159 might be great at negotiating, or they might know a 0:06:07.160 --> 0:06:10.000 neighborhood really well. But if you're the kind of person 0:06:10.040 --> 0:06:12.200 who likes to know every step of the way, like 0:06:12.240 --> 0:06:14.479 what's happening now, what's happening now, Like, certainly we would 0:06:14.520 --> 0:06:17.080 encourage you to ask, but yeah, this episode is for you. 0:06:17.120 --> 0:06:19.520 We're gonna talk through all the different little steps of 0:06:19.520 --> 0:06:21.560 submitting an offer and just all the small details that 0:06:21.600 --> 0:06:23.679 go into that. And even if you have a great agent, 0:06:23.880 --> 0:06:26.000 which is awesome, well, this is gonna help you be 0:06:26.040 --> 0:06:28.800 able to ask the right questions because an agent is 0:06:28.880 --> 0:06:32.200 often busy negotiating your deal right and getting the paperwork 0:06:32.279 --> 0:06:35.000 together and making sure that you're shown the houses that 0:06:35.040 --> 0:06:37.360 you're interested in even before that stuff happens, and so 0:06:37.560 --> 0:06:39.279 they've got a lot on their plate and it's not 0:06:39.320 --> 0:06:41.720 always based on negligence that they don't explain things well, 0:06:41.760 --> 0:06:43.480 it's because they've got a lot going on. And so 0:06:43.560 --> 0:06:45.960 this episode hopefully will give you the ability to ask 0:06:46.000 --> 0:06:48.960 the right questions so that you can stay informed during 0:06:48.960 --> 0:06:51.240 the process and make sure that you are watching your 0:06:51.240 --> 0:06:54.080 own back because obviously your agent is trying to do that, 0:06:54.360 --> 0:06:57.280 but more than anybody else's it's your responsibility to make 0:06:57.320 --> 0:07:00.440 sure that that you're going about this process correctly. So 0:07:00.480 --> 0:07:02.400 where we are now is that you've looked at tons 0:07:02.440 --> 0:07:04.920 of houses, hopefully you've maybe even looked for a month 0:07:04.960 --> 0:07:07.479 two months trying to find that right house, that that 0:07:07.520 --> 0:07:09.560 house that you know will will work for you. And 0:07:09.600 --> 0:07:11.560 so after the break, we're gonna get to the first 0:07:11.680 --> 0:07:14.080 step that is required if you want to purchase a home, 0:07:14.120 --> 0:07:16.480 and that's submitting an offer, you got to do that, 0:07:25.160 --> 0:07:27.280 all right, Matt. Let's talk about submitting an offer. And 0:07:27.320 --> 0:07:30.000 typically most people just don't think through this step enough. 0:07:30.200 --> 0:07:32.360 They don't think that submitting an offer is actually all 0:07:32.400 --> 0:07:34.680 that important. They're just trying to decide whether they're gonna 0:07:34.800 --> 0:07:37.120 submit an offer with the asking price or not. But 0:07:37.160 --> 0:07:39.200 there are all sorts of other things that you can 0:07:39.240 --> 0:07:42.640 do to make your offer more competitive and increase the 0:07:42.720 --> 0:07:45.320 likelihood of you actually going under contract on that home. 0:07:45.520 --> 0:07:46.880 And so that's what we want to do. As we 0:07:46.920 --> 0:07:49.160 talked through submitting an offer, and the first thing that 0:07:49.200 --> 0:07:51.360 you should do when you're submitting an offer is have 0:07:51.480 --> 0:07:55.080 your agent call the listing agent to kind of get 0:07:55.120 --> 0:07:57.280 a feel for what's going on. This is when having 0:07:57.280 --> 0:07:58.920 a great agent, like we talked about at the end 0:07:58.920 --> 0:08:01.320 of last week's episode can pay off majorly for you. 0:08:01.640 --> 0:08:04.160 So a personable agent can talk to the agent and 0:08:04.200 --> 0:08:06.960 kind of get a feel for whether the seller needs 0:08:07.000 --> 0:08:10.120 to move out quickly, is trying to sell a sap 0:08:10.160 --> 0:08:11.840 and you might be able to infer from that that 0:08:11.840 --> 0:08:13.920 they're actually willing to take a little bit less money 0:08:14.040 --> 0:08:16.040 if you're willing to close in two weeks as opposed 0:08:16.080 --> 0:08:18.200 to a month and a half. And maybe that's the 0:08:18.240 --> 0:08:20.880 most important thing about your offer. For sellers, it's not 0:08:20.920 --> 0:08:23.600 always about accepting the highest dollar amount. There's so many 0:08:23.600 --> 0:08:26.320 other things that go into creating a winning offer, and 0:08:26.400 --> 0:08:27.880 so we want to kind of tackle those. But that's 0:08:27.880 --> 0:08:29.720 the first thing. Have your agent called the other agent 0:08:29.760 --> 0:08:32.080 and get a feel for what's going on, Joel. A 0:08:32.120 --> 0:08:35.000 great agent will will help you to obviously communicate with 0:08:35.040 --> 0:08:39.800 the seller, and they will help convince the selling agent 0:08:39.960 --> 0:08:41.720 to want to sell the house to you. You know, 0:08:41.720 --> 0:08:43.520 they're they're there to talk you up and make you 0:08:43.559 --> 0:08:45.559 look great. Yeah, and I swear I've got an agent 0:08:45.600 --> 0:08:47.920 like that where she literally has that sort of power 0:08:47.960 --> 0:08:50.600 over people to make them want to sell me the house. 0:08:50.679 --> 0:08:53.520 And it is amazing. And a key thing that your 0:08:53.520 --> 0:08:55.520 agent will help you to do is to figure out 0:08:55.520 --> 0:08:58.719 how much to offer. Your agent can pull comps in 0:08:58.760 --> 0:09:01.480 the area, actual stays that have gone through, and we'll 0:09:01.559 --> 0:09:04.200 help you determine how much to offer. And these comparables 0:09:04.200 --> 0:09:08.080 are based on other houses, the amenities that the houses have, 0:09:08.160 --> 0:09:10.720 square footage, because what you really want to avoid doing 0:09:10.800 --> 0:09:13.160 man is coming in with a crazy low offer where 0:09:13.160 --> 0:09:15.800 you end up offending the seller and you've completely lost 0:09:15.840 --> 0:09:18.480 your chance at purchasing that home. But when you're talking 0:09:18.559 --> 0:09:21.000 with your agent about how much you should offer, just 0:09:21.080 --> 0:09:22.960 make sure to stick to your budget. Like we talked 0:09:22.960 --> 0:09:25.920 about before, it's really easy to get excited and emotionally 0:09:25.920 --> 0:09:28.040 tied to a home that you've been looking at and 0:09:28.120 --> 0:09:31.079 kind of pursuing, But it's really important to stick to 0:09:31.080 --> 0:09:33.120 your budget at the same time, because you can find 0:09:33.120 --> 0:09:35.880 yourself biting off more than you wanted to chew and 0:09:35.960 --> 0:09:38.360 that's just not a position you want to be in. Okay, 0:09:38.440 --> 0:09:40.800 so your offer, you've made it. But the fact is 0:09:40.920 --> 0:09:44.520 the seller isn't likely to accept your offer straight up, 0:09:44.559 --> 0:09:47.320 like as is. There's a good chance that there's gonna 0:09:47.360 --> 0:09:50.160 be some negotiating going on. They are likely going to 0:09:50.240 --> 0:09:53.040 submit a counter offer. It's not often that, you know, 0:09:53.080 --> 0:09:54.960 whatever price that you throw out there to the to 0:09:55.000 --> 0:09:57.800 the seller that they say, okay, all this looks awesome, 0:09:58.440 --> 0:10:00.760 they're probably gonna counter in my go back and forth 0:10:00.800 --> 0:10:02.760 a few rounds. And like, the reason I bring this 0:10:02.840 --> 0:10:04.719 up is because this is when it starts getting kind 0:10:04.720 --> 0:10:07.199 of real, you know, Joel, start biting your fingernails. Yeah, 0:10:07.280 --> 0:10:09.120 like because you think crap, Like is this what I 0:10:09.120 --> 0:10:12.120 am going to agree to pay for? And what's important? 0:10:12.160 --> 0:10:13.600 And we're gonna get to this as well. But there's 0:10:13.640 --> 0:10:16.680 a whole period of time where you can negotiate further 0:10:16.720 --> 0:10:19.720 and make amendments to your offer, specifically depending on the 0:10:19.760 --> 0:10:22.439 results of your inspection. So just know that there's more 0:10:22.440 --> 0:10:25.120 wiggle room down the road and that chances are there's 0:10:25.120 --> 0:10:27.680 going to be more negotiating and other counter offers that 0:10:27.760 --> 0:10:29.959 can be made. So real quick, let's let's say a 0:10:29.960 --> 0:10:32.199 few things that are gonna make you stand out as 0:10:32.240 --> 0:10:35.199 having a better offer than other people. And for instance, 0:10:35.240 --> 0:10:37.800 Matt and I we've talked before about putting down on 0:10:37.840 --> 0:10:40.480 a home. If you have a higher down payment and 0:10:40.600 --> 0:10:42.800 you write that into your offer and the seller then 0:10:42.880 --> 0:10:45.439 knows that you've got cash in the bank, they're much 0:10:45.480 --> 0:10:48.560 more likely to accept your offer than someone going with 0:10:48.600 --> 0:10:51.400 a three and a half percent down FH loan. Your 0:10:51.559 --> 0:10:55.920 likelihood of getting through the financing process is much greater 0:10:56.080 --> 0:10:57.880 if you've got a lot of cash, you know, sitting 0:10:57.920 --> 0:10:59.400 in the bank and you're ready to put it down 0:10:59.400 --> 0:11:01.640 towards that home. Yeah, I mean, another aspect is the 0:11:01.679 --> 0:11:03.439 earnest money, Like, this is money that you've got to 0:11:03.480 --> 0:11:06.040 put down to put towards the closing and then obviously 0:11:06.040 --> 0:11:07.679 it goes towards the total amount and do at the 0:11:07.679 --> 0:11:10.680 closing table. But you know, you could technically put down 0:11:10.800 --> 0:11:13.480 five dollars for earnest money, but the seller is probably 0:11:13.520 --> 0:11:15.880 gonna look at you and think, nah, you're crazy, Like, 0:11:15.920 --> 0:11:17.920 who are you putting down five dollars? Earn this money 0:11:17.920 --> 0:11:20.800 can typically vary between one to five percent of the 0:11:20.800 --> 0:11:23.200 purchase price. Most deals that I've done, it's just sort 0:11:23.200 --> 0:11:24.520 of just a set amount. It's like, all right, you 0:11:24.559 --> 0:11:26.000 want to put two or three grand down, or you 0:11:26.040 --> 0:11:28.079 wanna put five or seven just to make it look 0:11:28.120 --> 0:11:30.880 really strong. But generally speaking, the more earnest money that 0:11:30.920 --> 0:11:33.400 you can put down when you submit your offer, it 0:11:33.440 --> 0:11:35.800 looks more attractive to the seller because they see that 0:11:35.840 --> 0:11:37.640 you're being serious and then you're not messing around and 0:11:37.679 --> 0:11:39.920 wasting your time. Yeah, kind of an outside of the 0:11:39.960 --> 0:11:42.760 box way to make your offer look a little bit 0:11:42.760 --> 0:11:46.040 stronger too, is to write a personal letter to the 0:11:46.120 --> 0:11:49.280 seller and they want to always read it. It's not 0:11:49.320 --> 0:11:51.840 always a winner, but that's one thing that can help 0:11:51.840 --> 0:11:55.480 you stand out if two offers are incredibly similar, and 0:11:55.760 --> 0:11:58.520 I got a personal letter from someone that really fell 0:11:58.520 --> 0:12:01.079 in love with the house, wanted to talk about what 0:12:01.120 --> 0:12:03.800 their future looked like in the house, and explained that 0:12:03.840 --> 0:12:05.960 they wanted to put a garden out back, or how 0:12:06.040 --> 0:12:08.520 they wanted to eventually raise a family there someday, something 0:12:08.559 --> 0:12:10.120 like that like that would kind of tug at my 0:12:10.120 --> 0:12:12.080 heart strings. And if it was a thousand or two 0:12:12.080 --> 0:12:14.680 thousand dollars difference, or it was a difference of earnest 0:12:14.679 --> 0:12:16.839 money or something like that, like I would be much 0:12:16.880 --> 0:12:19.520 more likely to consider the person with the slightly weaker 0:12:19.559 --> 0:12:22.199 offer that submitted a handwritten note telling me how much 0:12:22.200 --> 0:12:23.640 they love the house and and you want the house 0:12:23.640 --> 0:12:26.320 you're selling to go into good hands, and so that 0:12:26.679 --> 0:12:29.040 one kind of outside of the box way to approach 0:12:29.080 --> 0:12:32.600 submitting an offer can make the difference between potentially in 0:12:32.600 --> 0:12:35.000 a tight market in a bidding war, can make the 0:12:35.000 --> 0:12:37.319 difference between you getting a house or not. Yeah, Joel, 0:12:37.320 --> 0:12:39.600 that's a great example. And that's something that Kate and 0:12:39.600 --> 0:12:42.360 I did in this house and the house ever recording, 0:12:42.360 --> 0:12:45.120 and we had reached out a few months before the 0:12:45.160 --> 0:12:47.200 house was ever even on the market, before it was 0:12:47.240 --> 0:12:49.640 even an option for them to sell. And we you know, 0:12:49.679 --> 0:12:51.520 we just touched base and kind of explained to them 0:12:51.520 --> 0:12:53.760 our situation, and you know, they kindly got back and 0:12:53.760 --> 0:12:55.680 said that they weren't in a position to sell. But 0:12:55.720 --> 0:12:57.920 guess what in the coming months when they were in 0:12:57.960 --> 0:12:59.320 a position to sell, and they knew that they were 0:12:59.320 --> 0:13:00.640 ready to get rid of the house because I mean 0:13:00.679 --> 0:13:03.559 they were living overseas. Guess who were the first folks 0:13:03.559 --> 0:13:06.440 that they contacted. It was me and my and my 0:13:06.520 --> 0:13:08.800 wife and so we in in this instance, we were 0:13:08.840 --> 0:13:10.760 able to get the home without it even going on 0:13:10.800 --> 0:13:13.640 the market, which is really key because at that point 0:13:13.679 --> 0:13:16.560 you're avoiding the competition and other folks that are also 0:13:16.880 --> 0:13:19.440 interested in the house, and that can also drive up 0:13:19.440 --> 0:13:21.480 the price. Yeah, that's pretty sweet, mat You've got a 0:13:21.480 --> 0:13:23.280 good deal on that. And also you want to consider 0:13:23.320 --> 0:13:25.520 things like the schedule of when you're closing. Like I 0:13:25.520 --> 0:13:28.160 mentioned earlier, when you're talking to your agent, if it 0:13:28.200 --> 0:13:29.679 sounds like the seller needs to be out of their 0:13:29.679 --> 0:13:33.040 home quickly, submitting an offer with a closing date that 0:13:33.120 --> 0:13:35.760 happened sooner is a better way to go, right And 0:13:35.760 --> 0:13:38.120 if you can make that happen, your offer just became 0:13:38.200 --> 0:13:40.400 a whole lot stronger, and the closing date can just 0:13:40.440 --> 0:13:43.920 be a crucial factor of whether your offer is going 0:13:43.960 --> 0:13:46.679 to be even considered or not. So, yeah, you want 0:13:46.679 --> 0:13:48.400 to make sure you kind of understand what the seller 0:13:48.440 --> 0:13:51.520 wants and submit a closing date in your offer that 0:13:51.679 --> 0:13:54.000 kind of functions in accordance with that. Yeah, and just 0:13:54.000 --> 0:13:56.400 being flexible because in your instance, you're talking about it 0:13:56.400 --> 0:13:58.400 bumping up, but it could be the exact opposite. It 0:13:58.400 --> 0:14:01.120 just depends on the seller that's oler might realize that well, 0:14:01.160 --> 0:14:02.800 they wanted to go ahead and get it listed. The 0:14:02.960 --> 0:14:04.439 fact is that they don't want to move until the 0:14:04.520 --> 0:14:06.240 end of the summer. And so if you have the 0:14:06.280 --> 0:14:08.760 flexibility to say, well, all right, that that works for us. 0:14:08.760 --> 0:14:10.280 You know, we don't need to move in until August 0:14:10.280 --> 0:14:13.160 as well, your offer just became so much more valuable 0:14:13.160 --> 0:14:15.000 in their eyes, and they're gonna want to lock that 0:14:15.040 --> 0:14:17.320 down they can move on with their life and focus 0:14:17.320 --> 0:14:19.720 on where they're gonna move next. And so these are 0:14:19.720 --> 0:14:22.520 all the key points that make your offer look good 0:14:22.760 --> 0:14:25.840 and attractive to a seller. Also baked into your offer 0:14:25.880 --> 0:14:30.360 though our contingencies, and essentially these are like escape clauses. 0:14:30.560 --> 0:14:32.040 This allows you to kind of pull that rip chord 0:14:32.240 --> 0:14:34.760 just in case things kind of get dicey, because often, 0:14:34.880 --> 0:14:37.440 especially with the first time homebuyers, you think, well, at 0:14:37.480 --> 0:14:39.640 what point can I turn back? Like is it too late? 0:14:39.680 --> 0:14:41.880 Like are we agreed to purchase this home? If we 0:14:41.960 --> 0:14:44.000 back down now, would we lose our earnest money that 0:14:44.040 --> 0:14:46.040 we've put down? Because obviously you want your offer to 0:14:46.080 --> 0:14:48.200 look really good, so you've put down a healthy amount 0:14:48.240 --> 0:14:50.520 of earnest money. And so with the help of your realtor, 0:14:50.760 --> 0:14:53.520 what you'll want to have done is put these contingencies 0:14:53.560 --> 0:14:56.479 within your offer. And these are things like your financing, 0:14:56.800 --> 0:15:00.480 inspection and appraisal contingency, Like these are all things allow 0:15:00.560 --> 0:15:03.520 you to back out of the deal if these things 0:15:03.560 --> 0:15:05.520 aren't met. And so, Joe, you wanna kick it off 0:15:05.600 --> 0:15:08.120 with the financing continguency. Yeah, it gives you some peace 0:15:08.120 --> 0:15:10.920 of mind, right, And so yeah, the financing contingency is 0:15:10.920 --> 0:15:12.360 is one that you're gonna want to have in there. 0:15:12.520 --> 0:15:14.480 You're gonna want to make sure that during that due 0:15:14.480 --> 0:15:18.520 diligence period that with the financing contingency in place, you 0:15:18.560 --> 0:15:22.040 can back out with no financial penalty to you if 0:15:22.240 --> 0:15:25.160 you aren't able to secure financing from a lender. And 0:15:25.200 --> 0:15:27.800 by the way, this due diligence period that we're talking about, 0:15:27.840 --> 0:15:30.440 I would say that an average due diligence period lasts 0:15:30.440 --> 0:15:33.960 about seven days. But make sure to ask your realtor 0:15:34.000 --> 0:15:36.960 whether there is a state law that influences the length 0:15:37.000 --> 0:15:40.000 of the due diligence period. It's a really important time 0:15:40.040 --> 0:15:41.320 for you to kind of get your ducks in a 0:15:41.400 --> 0:15:43.200 row to make sure that this is the house you 0:15:43.240 --> 0:15:45.520 still want to buy. And so as you're lining up 0:15:45.520 --> 0:15:48.240 your your financing, you'll want to get sort of your 0:15:48.240 --> 0:15:51.040 final approval for that specific house that you're making an 0:15:51.040 --> 0:15:54.400 offer on. And another thing that's important to keep in 0:15:54.440 --> 0:15:55.640 mind too, is that you want to make sure that 0:15:55.680 --> 0:15:58.160 you haven't you know, gotten new credit. Like so from 0:15:58.160 --> 0:16:00.560 the time you were preapproved. You know, talked about that 0:16:00.600 --> 0:16:02.840 in the previous two episodes ago, the things that you 0:16:02.840 --> 0:16:05.360 want to do before you purchase a home, but you 0:16:05.400 --> 0:16:07.840 want to make sure that you're not getting new credit. 0:16:07.880 --> 0:16:09.120 You want to make sure you haven't applied for a 0:16:09.160 --> 0:16:11.800 new loan. Even getting a new credit card could drop 0:16:11.800 --> 0:16:15.160 your credit score enough to where you might not qualify 0:16:15.280 --> 0:16:17.680 for that loan that you did qualify for. Even a 0:16:17.680 --> 0:16:20.160 few weeks before. Yeah, it could mean the difference between 0:16:20.200 --> 0:16:22.520 getting the house or not. And even if it doesn't 0:16:22.520 --> 0:16:24.280 mean that, it could just mean a higher interest rate 0:16:24.320 --> 0:16:26.920 for you because you pulled out some new credit and 0:16:26.960 --> 0:16:29.720 it dropped your credit score and therefore you don't qualify 0:16:29.880 --> 0:16:32.280 for quite as good of a rate. And so another 0:16:32.400 --> 0:16:35.520 huge contingency that you'll have worked into your offer is 0:16:35.560 --> 0:16:38.920 the inspection contingency. And it even allows you to back 0:16:38.920 --> 0:16:41.240 out of the house even completely if there are so 0:16:41.280 --> 0:16:42.920 many repairs that are going to have to be done 0:16:43.360 --> 0:16:45.640 and it's just more than you're willing to take on. Yeah, 0:16:45.680 --> 0:16:49.200 it's really important not to skimp on an inspection because, yeah, 0:16:49.200 --> 0:16:52.640 they're typically in the realm of three five hundred dollars, 0:16:52.840 --> 0:16:54.680 could be even more depending on the size of the 0:16:54.720 --> 0:16:57.880 home or whether it's a multifamily property. But just like 0:16:57.920 --> 0:16:59.880 a good realtor is worth their weight in gold, so 0:17:00.200 --> 0:17:02.640